Saturday, November 4, 2017

Everything is Training for the Big One

Okay, I know it's crazy. But I've got to keep planning big trips, or what's a bike for?

Put it in your calendar. Beginning of June, 2019. TABR19. I'll be the one at the start line with white hair, a few chinny whiskers, my own cheering section made up of folks from around the Astoria area ... and then, they're off!

First there will be the fast riders, those trying to match or surpass 17 days across America on the Trans America Bicycle route ... all 4200 miles of it. On the other end, there will be the totally unprepared first-timers. Sandwiched in between, there will be people seriously intent on setting their own personal records, reaching their own personal goals.

One of those will be me. I'll be well into my 70's by the time the race starts. I'll be a veteran of at least one trip across America, one trip the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and a handful of assorted events that only bicyclists know about, and that you have to be crazy to dream of. Every ride I do between now and then will be building towards the Trans America Bike Race in 2019.

My regular routine, at the moment, includes three rides every week with the Hawaii Bicycling League (at hbl.org). There's the Monday Start the Week Off Right ride, an easy no-drop ride of approximately 25 miles that ends at a local coffee shop, where we commandeer 3-4 tables and a dozen or so chairs, plus a large bike rack filled with bikes belonging to riders, seasoned and new, expert and beginner. On Thursday, we ride approximately 50 miles round-trip, with a stop for brunch at our favorite site, the Kawalapai Cafe in Kailua, before returning to Honolulu. The ride usually includes a  side-trip to Bellows Beach, as long as we have someone with a military ID to get us past the guard at the gate. Saturdays include a similar route, on a ride led by the "Heavy Breather Outdoor Club." Some weeks, we have had as many as four tandem teams, but a lot of the riders are the same ones who join the regular HBL rides.

So, in brief, I don't have to break my routine to get 125 miles a week on my bike. So for the next year and a half, I'll start adding a few bonus miles ... hills, trips around the perimeter of the island of Oahu, trips over the passes, trips to teach classes or attend events on the far side of the island.

Just watch. And hope that I'm in the saddle, with my climbing and endurance muscles ready for an epic TABR journey. My goal, at the moment, is to finish in under 40 days. I will revise that number downward as the time gets nearer, I hope. Meanwhile, I'm hoping I can train the wind to stay at my back.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Blue Highway Warriors

At long last, my book about "Bike Trip America" is available. Read all about the cross-country bike trip I took to celebrate the 36th anniversary of my 34th birthday.

Read all about the cross-country bike trip I took to celebrate the 36th anniversary of my 34th birthday.  

And if you want to inspire others, send them this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Highway-Warriors-American-Bicycling/dp/1628653612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489439959&sr=8-1&keywords=9781628653618